Raekwon Biography

Corey Woods, 12 January 1970, New York, USA. Raekwon is a long-standing member of the Wu-Tang Clan, Staten Islands seminal hip-hop crew. Following the release of their 1993 debut Enter The Wu-Tang (36 Chambers), several of the members released solo projects. Raekwons Only Built 4 Cuban Linx followed albums by Method Man (Tical) and Ol Dirty Bastard (Return To The 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version). The album was produced, like most Wu-Tang Clan releases, by RZA, and featured notable contributions from fellow members Ghostface Killah (credited on the album cover under the Tony Starks pseudonym) and Method Man. The album celebrated the gambino lifestyle of New York gangstas, and incorporated the teachings of the 5% Nation Muslim set. The harsh rhyming and vicious rhetoric isolated it from the family vibe of other Wu-Tang releases, although it proved popular with their fans, debuting at number 4 on the Billboard album chart in August 1995. The following year, Raekwon (who is also known as the Chef) received second billing on Ghostface Killahs Ironman. His next studio album, Immobilarity, was released in November 1999, and attracted strong praise for its highly individual take on the Wu-Tang Clan sound.

Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.